Make April 25 Parental Alienation Awareness Day in Newark, New Jersey
Make April 25 Parental Alienation Awareness Day in Newark, New Jersey
Parental alienation is a strategy whereby one parent intentionally displays to the child unjustified negativity aimed at the other parent. The purpose of this strategy is to damage the child's relationship with the other parent and to turn the child's emotions against that other parent.
Parental Alienation profoundly affects both children and alienated parents. Children of Parental Alienation are at increased risk for future trust and relationship issues, depression, and substance abuse. For a rejected parent, the pain is excruciating. Parental Alienation impacts people from all walks of life.
THE PARENT:
Research shows that parental alienation likely occurs in 11-15% of divorces involving children.
Researchers estimate that 22 million American adults, and close to 4 million children, have been victimized by parental alienating behaviors. They also found that 47% of moderately to severely alienated parents had contemplated suicide within the past year. Furthermore, victims of alienation reported more post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and higher rates of depression than parents who had not been alienated.
THE CHILD:
Parental Alienation is a form of child abuse that we are only beginning to recognize. Technically speaking, it’s when a child aligns with one parent and rejects its other parent for reasons that are not warranted. According to The Parental Alienation Study Group, at least 3.9 million children in the United States are “moderately to severely” alienated from a parent.
• Abuse and control.
• Denigration of the targeted parent
• Adultification
• Disrupting alienated adult child and targeted parent relationship.
• Perceptions of the Alienating Parent’s characteristics
• Neglect.
• Alienated adult child experience suppressed.
Further research has shown that 1 out of every 4 children involved in divorces suffer from Parental Alienation.
Custodial interference in the past year is associated with an increased risk for suicidal ideation of up 4.5 times the norm, a 450% increase vs.children without this history. Making custodial interference, a.k.a. Parental Alienation, one of the most important preventable factors to decrease suicides in our youths.
WHY START A PETITION?
Knowing the severe affects suffered by victims of Parental Alienation has prompted us to start a petition that will work towards bringing light to a critically urgent situation. After considering various ways to expose this behavioral disfunction to the public, we felt that our best plan of action would be to designate a day when the victims of Parental Alienation were brought to the forefront. This day would serve as a time of reflection and education, which we hope will lead to healing and reestablishing family relationships with a deeper conscious concern for all persons involved. We have decided to petition the city of Newark, New Jersey to spearhead this campaign for family healing, in hopes of this day of recognition growing to a State and eventually, a National level.
We can get this done with your help! We need to acquire 10,000 signatures; and we’re asking for your assistance. Please sign the petition like your family depends on it, because it does.
Ken Lewis. Parental Alienation Can Be Emotional Child Abuse. NCSC Trends In State Courts.
URL: https://www.ncsc.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/42152/parental_alienation_Lewis.pdf
Alan D. Blotcky Ph.D. May 11, 2021. How to Recognize Parental Alienation. Psychology Today.
Colorado State University. November 4, 2019. Whether direct or indirect, parental alienation harms families. Science Daily. URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191104144131.htm#:~:text=Based%20on%20their%20most%20recent,suicide%20within%20the%20past%20year
Vinita Mehta Ph.D., Ed.M. December 27, 2021. The Devastating Effect of Parental Alienation on Children: Anger, guilt, grief, disconnection, and low self-esteem. Psychology Today.com.
Haley Medeiros. October 17, 2019. Statistics, warning signs reveal harsh reality of parental alienation syndrome. Eagle Nation Online.
Mario Jimenez, M.D. June 18, 2016. Custodial Interference Leads to Suicides. VoteFamily.US.
URL: http://www.votefamily.us/custodial-interferance-leads-suicides/